The Spark Within
by marauders'-cat
Summary: Lily is suddenly thrown into a world of mutant abilities after she accidentally kills her parents in a house fire, while in the process alienating her sister. She has no one and doesn't want to be close to anyone, in fear that she might hurt them. What will happen when she can't find the light within herself to continue? X-men crossover HP (Lily x James later on)
1. Prologue

This is a story about Lily Evans a normal English girl who's life gets completely turned on its head one fateful day. She has to learn to control her mutant abilities while dealing with the after-effects of her parent's deaths.

Characters are from both the X-Men world along with Marauder's era HP

This story has been in my head for several months and I am so glad that I am finally sharing it with people other than my wonderful Beta and my weird friend Mel who doesn't even know who some of the characters and other reads them because she is bored. But here it is, the very first chapter of "The Spark Within"

I am so grateful to my Beta Hoodoo (a link to her profile is on my profile) who has been helping me edit this story and make sure that everything makes sense. You are the best! And I dedicate this chapter two Hoodoo and my friend Bolt who I love and I hope will get emotionally invested in this story as she has done with most of my other stories, you are an amazing person and I hope you like this story.

Without further ado, here is my baby. Please enjoy reading this as much as I have writing it.

**Prologue **

At age thirteen something happened in Lily's life that changed the course of her future. The event would haunt her for years to come, always at the back of her mind in whatever she was doing.

It was the day she murdered her parents.

_The television blared and the image was fuzzy in Lily's eyes, but she remembered being surrounded by the people she loved, and therefore it didn't matter what was on the screen. Her head was resting on her older sister's lap as they watched the television, Petunia playing idly with Lily's long, dark red hair. Their parents were sitting on the other couch both laughing at whatever was said by the people on the show, Petunia laughing along with them, but Lily didn't remember if she had laughed or not. It was so long ago and many things happened afterwards that even the name of the television show was lost to her._

_The first sharp and clear memory that day was the doorbell ringing. It was late in the afternoon and the Evans' family wasn't expecting any visitors, but nevertheless someone was at their door. It was her Dad that answered the door. Lily remembered that much, but the conversation after the two strangers entered the house was what dramatically changed her life._

_"Lily Evans, you are a mutant. Just like us," the Professor had said to a stunned Mr. and Mrs. Evans after introductions. They were too shocked to respond to the possibly rude comment._

_"She's not a mutant!" Petunia had snapped, and then shifted closer to Lily on the couch opposite the strangers. Their parents situated on two chairs taken from the kitchen._

_"I wasn't meaning to be rude Petunia, but your sister has great powers. I can prove to you that mutants are real," the Professor replied. "Storm if you wouldn't mind?"he asked to the strange dark skinned woman that accompanied him._

_"Of course Professor," Storm said._

_It didn't take long for Lily's mother, a human biological science teacher, to realize that the Professor wasn't as crazy as Petunia believed him to be. It was somewhat difficult to take in, but it did make sense. The evolution of human life was bound to make some leaps forward, but never so dramatically as mutant abilities like controlling the weather. Mrs. Evans was thoroughly intrigued by the matter._

_"We know that she will be a powerful mutant. I can see it in her mind. She is very welcome to attend my school for gifted youngsters," the Professor had said._

_Petunia argued that Lily didn't need to be taken away to boarding school because she didn't have these abilities that the Professor was talking about, which was correct as they had not shown themselves yet. However he assured the family that Lily was just a late bloomer._

_"No! She's just plain old Lily."_

_"I know this may be hard for you Petunia, but Lily could be a danger to the people around her if she doesn't learn to control her powers."_

_The whole experience was surreal for Lily. She didn't want to leave her sister and her parents, and she wasn't fully convinced that the Professor was telling the truth, but he was expecting an answer from her and so were her parents._

_"Do you want to go to this school Lily?" her Dad had asked her._

_Lily thought it over and didn't really know what to say._

_"I don't know," she had replied honestly._

_"How about we get in contact with you once her abilities come through, and then she will be better able to make her decision with all the variables present," her Mum had said, very much like the science teacher that she was._

_Once the Professor and Storm had left the house it felt like nothing had happened. Sure her Mother kept a closer eye on Lily, to see if anything was happening in way of her abilities, but it didn't affect her everyday life._

_The night her powers became present was one that Lily would never forget. This was the true event that shaped her future so dramatically._

_It was just an ordinary evening. Lily was drying her hair after just having a shower, using a towel to mop up her wet auburn hair. She started shaking her towel in one hand, trying to dry it somewhat, while she used the other to untangle her hair with a brush. Suddenly her towel caught fire and she dropped it. But the towel wasn't on fire; it was her hand! It was engulfed in flames, but it didn't feel like it was burning; it felt just mildly warm. She shook her hand, trying to put out the fire. The flames flew from her hand and set fire to the bathmat. Lily screamed and tried to put out the fire with the hand that wasn't flaming using her damp towel, but then that caught fire too, making her drop it. The wooden cupboards under the sink were next to start burning and there was nothing Lily could do. She really started panicking at that point._

_Lily tried to turn on the tap but then the metal knobs started heating too. The metal liquefied in front of her very eyes. The smoke started hurting her lungs as more of the bathroom went up in flames. She was too scared to open the door in case it would trap her, so she screamed for help. Petunia was out at a friend's house and her parents were asleep. However the door crashed inwards and Lily was sobbing with relief as her Father pulled her by the elbows, careful of her flaming hands, out of the room. But the flames licked at their heels and Lily screamed as the ceiling caught fire. Her hands flew to protect her head as a beam of wood fell, which caused flames to jump from her hands to the walls._

_The fire moved faster than any normal fire, with the accidental aid of Lily, and soon the smoke was making it too difficult to breathe. Her Father pushed her towards her parents' room, which was currently safe from flames. Her Mother was standing in the middle of the room with her phone calling someone; later Lily realized that it was probably the Professor. Lily's Dad shut the door quickly behind them, just as more flames engulfed the hallway. The room was getting hotter and hotter each second and waiting around for the fire department was not going to save them._

_The house was two stories high, and they were stuck on the upper floor with only a long drop out the window for freedom. The door and the walls were smoking and Lily screamed. Her parents pushed her to the window and urged her to jump to the ground below. She was terrified; nothing that was happening was making any sense. But through the fear and pain of the smoke inhalation she remembered hugging her parents quickly and then taking the jump._

_The next thing she remembered was waking up in hospital the next day with a broken arm._

The room is blindingly white, making the past couple of days seem like a weird dream. Lily is sitting up in a hospital bed looking out the window, thinking back to the night of the Event, almost two days ago. Several painful facts came to her mind before she could shut them down: her parents are dead, she started the fire, and Petunia wouldn't talk to her. She also discovered that she had the power to generate fire, because as the Professor warned them, she is in fact a mutant. Her heart pulls at the memory of the burning house and Petunia calling her a "freak" before being pulled away by their uncle.

A light tap on the door alerts Lily to the presence of the Professor and another man.

"How are you feeling Lily?" the Professor asks pleasantly.

"All right," she replies, somewhat hoarsely.

"I'm so sorry for all the pain you have suffered these past days," he says in her head, making Lily twitch in surprise at the pleasant feeling obviously sent to her by the Professor, but also making her feel slightly better. Aloud the Professor says, "This is my friend Scott. He is a mutant like us."

"Hi Lily," Scott says with a smile.

Lily smiles back weakly in response, her throat hurting too much to talk.

"We spoke to your uncle this morning and he said that it was fully up to you to decide," the Professor tells her.

"He didn't say it in those words did he?" Lily voices her thoughts, she remembers the fearful expression on her uncle's face from the day before.

"No, he did not," the Professor answers sadly. "However, if you do not wish to join my school, we can arrange— "

"No," Lily cuts him off. "I would like to join your school. If that's not too much trouble," Lily replies quietly, looking down at her hands not wanting to see the rejection in his face.

"We would be happy to have you Lily," the Professor replies, moving towards her and resting his hand over her smaller ones. She looks at him with a relieved smile. "I promise that we will do everything we can to help you control your powers," he says, reassuring her mind.

"Thank you," she says quietly.

A/N: hope you enjoyed the story, please review! :)


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hope you enjoy the new chapter! Disclaimer: I do not own the characters nor the setting of this story, they belong to Marvel and JK Rowling. Once again thank you to my lovely Beta Hoodoo.**

**This chapter is dedicated to my sister who is one of my favourite people in this world.**

~The Funeral~

Colours and light seems to be more vivid to Lily as she walks into the church. The sun shines through the stained-glass windows and fills the church with light. Flowers adorn the large room, bringing colour into the brightly-lit area. It creates a beautiful and angelic atmosphere. Serene voices read out what are supposed to be beautiful hymns, but all Lily can think is how dismal the whole event is. Her parents are dead and nothing is ever going to be fine again. A stupid funeral won't change that fact, nor will crying. They are gone and it is all her fault.

It feels as though she is sitting alone in the church, up at the front of the room with no one behind her, no one supporting her. However the place is packed with people, but she feels as though she isn't connected to them. They are just people taking up space in the emptiness that once held Mr and Mrs Evans. Of course she recognizes family and friends sitting in the pews, but the inspirational quotes and whimsical stories spoken about her parents don't instill a nostalgic smile on her face, nor did her heart lift with the sense of shared grief. She felt distant from every single person in the church because not one of them actually killed the two people that were smiling down at them from photo frames sitting on the coffins at the front of the assembly.

Lily glances to her side to see Petunia sitting with her hands in her lap, gripping a pale blue hanky, and staring ahead with misty eyes. She wipes tears away with the hanky every so often, and Lily can see her hands shaking. A distant thought in the back of Lily's head produces the desire to comfort Petunia, but memories shut down the sentiment.

Petunia wouldn't even look at her after she found out that Lily had caused the fire. She had even called her a freak yesterday, when Lily came back from the hospital, and said that she was going to a freak school. Even now Petunia asked to have their aunt, uncle and cousin sitting between them. Lily was too numb to let Petunia's words affect her during the day. But at night, when she tried to sleep, her head filled with all the words Petunia muttered under her breath along with the screams of her parents as they died. She can't even remember if their screams were real or if she just dreamed them up to fit the imagined sight of their burning bodies. But she didn't cry. She just lay still in her bed, the pain like a hot iron, trying to survive the wave of guilt.

Christina, Lily's cousin, put her arm around Lily in a comforting gesture but it was lost on her unfeeling body. She is three years older than Lily and like many sixteen year olds she doesn't know how to comfort her newly orphaned younger cousin, but she tries, unlike her parents who knew the real cause of Lily's parent's deaths. "She wouldn't be so kind to her if she did," Lily thought bitterly.

Christina's curly brown hair hangs in waves down her back, and Lily stares at the corkscrew locks with fascination as more people get up to talk about her dead parents. She wonders how Chris does her hair to make it look so pretty, and think back to the time her mother helped Chris with her hair for a party. Lily's Mum was brilliant at doing hair.

Chris' bright blue eyes catch Lily looking at her and she gives the younger girl a sympathetic look, obviously trying to convey some sort of sympathy for Lily, but it falls on numb emotions. Lily turns her head back to the front, her eyes actively avoiding the coffins at the middle of the stage.

Lily watches as Petunia walks past her, to walk up to the raised daises at the front of the church, where the coffins were placed. Tears leaked from her eyes as she spoke about how much she would miss her parents and how they were her role models in life. It was all pretty heartbreaking stuff. The majority of the spectators were crying, but Lily was as dry-eyed as she had been since the event took place. The thought scared her. Was she heartless because she couldn't cry? It's not like she wasn't sad, of course she was sad. She felt like she had a hole in her chest where the love from her parents had collected over the years, but now that hole was emptying out and there was nothing to replenish it. No love from her sister nor much else from her terrified and grieving extended family, no friends who would understand. Lily Evans had never felt so lonely in such a crowded area, people sitting all around her yet none of them able to help her or comfort her.

More tears from the audience follow the minister back up to the front,  
>as pallbearers gather around the two wooden boxes that would hold her parents remains for the rest of eternity. Several male family members and friends help carry the coffins out of the church, and begin the short walk to the allotted land for the burial. Lily and Petunia lead the procession outside to follow the coffins down the grassy hill into the cemetery. Christina slips her hand into Lily's own as they make their way past tombstones and decaying flowers.<p>

The congregation surrounds two open holes where the coffins will be going into, and while the minister says a few more words, Lily shades her eyes from the hot sun. The image of funerals from movies always had it raining and overcast, but of course it would be one of the sunniest days of the year in Worthing. West Sussex was not known for its sunshine. Lily thought bitterly as she loosened her cardigan from around her shoulders.

The coffins were lowered into the ground and that was it. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were no longer above ground. They were now in another place, be it heaven or reincarnation, it didn't matter because they weren't there anymore. They were gone. Just like that the two most important people in Lily's life were gone. Disappeared.

After the correct amount of time for these things people started leaving; but not before laying flowers on the freshly covered graves, and giving out niceties to Petunia and a stupefied Lily. People tried to talk to Lily, but she was completely oblivious to them. Lily was trying to imagine her lively and happy parents now lying in the ground motionless, and it was impossible. This couldn't be happening, it was too real, too fast.

Without meaning to, Lily made her way closer to her the final resting place of the Evan's parents and kneeled before them, getting soil on her dress but not even noticing. She gently reaches out her hand, first to her Father's tombstone and then to her Mother's, running her fingers over their names as though trying to imprint the feel of the smooth stone beneath her finger-tips in her mind, to remind her that it was real. Her parents were dead. They weren't coming back. Hot tears ran down her cheeks and Lily felt the pain leaking through her shield of numbness. They really were gone and there was nothing that Lily could do to stop that fact from being true. She killed them.

Standing up Lily realizes that some time has passed. Petunia is sitting on a bench not far from their parents' graves, crying into Christina's shoulder. Brett, another one of their cousins, is on Petunia's other side. Lily makes eye contact with him and his dark blue eyes are filled with concern for her. He gets up and walks towards Lily. Once

close enough he extends his jacket to her. Lily suddenly realizes that she is cold and takes the offered item with thanks. She brushes away her tears and wraps Brett's jacket around her.

"It's almost time we should leave," he says glancing at his watch. "They said that they would pick me up from your house," Lily replies.

Professor X and Scott said that they would pick Lily up from her mother's brother's house, Lily's uncle. But neither her Uncle John nor her Aunty Holly didn't want people like Lily coming to their house. They weren't as mean as Petunia was about it all, but they weren't thrilled about Lily's abilities after finding out how exactly her parents had died. Their eldest, Brett, was also told about Lily's powers and he was less phased, possibly because he used to babysit the Evans girls and he got on like a house on fire with Lily. Brett, Uncle John and Aunty Holly were the only ones told of her powers. Christina, Brett's little sister, wasn't told even though Lily really wanted to tell her.

So Professor X and Scott are picking Lily up at Brett's flat. He lives with two of his mates near the center of town, so Lily is a little weary about the jet that the Professor mentioned when they talked in the hospital.

Lily takes one last look at her parents' graves before letting Brett steer her over to where Petunia and Christina are sitting. Christina gently shakes Petunia when Lily gets closer.

"Petunia. Lily is leaving now," she says.

"Good," Petunia replies, her face red and blotchy from crying. She screws her face up in disgust. "Have fun at your freak school," Petunia spits at Lily.

"Petunia!" Brett exclaims, not having heard similar jabs from Petunia since the event. "Let's just go," Lily says, pulling out from under Brett's arm.

"Good luck Lily," Christina says giving Lily a heart-warming smile and rising to give her a hug. "We'll come visit your new school," she says cheerily.

This stings Lily, knowing that Christina can't possibly come visit her at her new school, as she doesn't know that it is a school for people with abilities right out of science fiction and that Lily is one of them.

So Lily just nods her head and smiles, though it did look more like a grimace. Christina gave Lily a second hug.

"Don't worry about Petunia, she'll come round," Christina whispers in Lily's ear as she holds her tightly in an embrace. Lily once again just nods and smile-grimaces in reply.

"Okay, we had better get going," Brett says. He waves at Christina and Petunia as he turns to leave, Lily several steps ahead of him. Petunia doesn't even look up as her younger sister walks away.

Brett's flatmates had left the flat just after Lily and Brett arrived, having decided to give the cousins some alone time. Lily watches from the widow, a blank expression plastered to her pale face, as the pair get in a car and drive away. Did Brett tell them about his freaky cousin? Do they know that she had murdered her parents? Did they not know before but somehow could tell, just by looking at her, that she was a killer? Questions like these have been floating around her head even since the event. Her logical mind shutting down and letting these thoughts pervade her subconscious while she slept, and even let loose during the day. Whenever Lily was alone, which is a lot more often than she was before the event, these types of thoughts would take over.

"Lily?" Brett says loudly. She turns away from the window to see that Brett is standing with Professor X and Scott in the living room of his flat. It looks like they may have been standing there waiting for her attention for a bit longer than she thought. Brett's face is clouded with worry and concern for her while the Professor looks as clam as she last saw him.

"Don't worry Brett, we'll take good care of her," the Professor says, obviously answering the inner monologue of Brett's mind. Brett isn't phased by the words and nods his approval. He moves over to Lily, who keeps shifting her gaze from the three men in the room and then at her packed bag.

"Lils. The Professor and Mr. Summers have pretty busy schedule and they need to get going," Brett says. "Have you got everything?" His dark blue eyes bear into her electric green ones, trying to convey his affection for her and his love. She frowns and bites her lip. Brett sees that she is distressed and engulfs her in a bone-crushing hug. "Hey, it's okay. It is all going to be okay."

Lily responds by wrapping her own arms around him and burying her face in his chest. "You are going to master your powers and come back here and be able to do amazing things," he says, rubbing circles on her back. "I will be able to come and visit you. Chris can't, but I'll make sure to bring you some of her world-class brownies." That makes Lily chuckle and Brett grins at the fact that he cheered her up even if it were just a tiny amount.

"Take care of Tuney," Lily says pulling away to look up at her older cousin.

"I promise. And she'll come round Lils, just you wait," Brett says clapping Lily on the shoulder. He turns to the Professor and Scott, and then he looks back down at Lily. "Goodbye kiddo."

"Bye Brett." Lily says, hugging him one last time before grabbing her bag and exiting the flat with the Professor and Scott.

From the street below the flat Lily looks up to see Brett waving down at her, his face was splintering with the grief of losing his aunt and uncle, and now of losing his baby cousin to some distant school in America. It warms Lily's heart knowing that someone in her family knows the truth yet still loves her so much. She puts her backpack into the boot of the car and then takes her seat in the backseat.

"We've got to drive to the outskirts of town to get back to the jet," The Professor says from his position in the front passenger seat.

"Okay," Lily says looking back up at Brett for the last time as Scott starts up the car. Lily feels the weight of her new life crushing her as she waves goodbye to the only family who accepts her even with her new powers.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: And another chapter! **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Harry Potter characters (the Evans family), nor do I own the Xmen characters (the Professor, Scott, Storm). They belong to JK Rowling and Marvel. I also do not own "London Calling" as that song belongs to The Who.

This chapter is dedicated to my family for educating me to good music from an early age.

**~Chapter 2~**

Planes are safe. They are held up by magic. There is nothing to worry about. Don't try and understand the mechanics and flaws of travelling through the air at very fast speeds, while currently sitting within one of them.

Lily's panicked mind rumbles through random facts about plane crashes and how best to protect yourself on impact, what sitting position was safest, while also trying to ignore the fact that she really has to pee but she doesn't want to undo her seat belt. That fact that she was flying in a private plane didn't help her nerves. Were they safer than big jets? She read somewhere that smaller planes have more turbulence than bigger planes.

"I hate flying," Lily blurts out, her voice much higher than her normal speaking pitch due to the high altitude. Her body isn't normally this high that's why her voice is abnormally high.

Scott is sitting next to her, gripping the handles of his seat as another set of bumps ripple through the plane. They are sitting in the new and improved plane, and the memory of the plane after its last flight all ripped up and mangled suddenly comes to his mind. Shaking his head, as if to clear this from his thoughts, he turns to Lily.

"Same," he says through gritted teeth. What is making Lily high pitched is making Scott clench and unclench his jaw, his tone of voice a deep monotone compared to Lily's.

Lily looks over at Scott and sees his tense expression and slight green tinge to his face. A memory flashes through Lily's mind so fast it gives her whiplash. Her Father's face masked in the same tight, controlled, somewhat angry expression while sitting on a bus with people crammed all around him. Lily was squished between him and the window, her hand wrapped around her Father's hand in order to comfort him. "Packed in like _bloody_ sardines" he had said that day, squeezing Lily's hand firmly. Lily shakes her head of the memories and looks at her own hand, which had moved on its own accord to wrap around Scott's clenched fist resting on the armrest. She looks back at his face and sees that he has relaxed slightly, and he looks back at her with an appreciative smile. Quickly she looks away.

She had killed the last man who she had comforted in that same way. Was she going to kill Scott too? Was she going to kill the woman with the white hair? The one that she had been briefly informed before boarding the plane is called Storm, who had given her a small smile of comfort at Lily's grief-stricken expression when she met her. Was she going to kill the Professor, who was sitting with his eyes closed in a seat on the other side of the plane? Was she going to use her powers and set the plane on fire, causing the deaths of people on the ground as well as in the plane? How many people would she kill before she was taught to control her powers?

Suddenly Scott's hand struggles free from under Lily's hand. She looks up at him to see concern looking right back at her. She looks down at her hands, instinctively, to see that they are glowing a deep red colour.

"What's happening?" Lily yells, fear clouding her emotions as her hands start to feel very warm.

"You must calm your mind, Lily. Only then will you be able to control your ability." The voice came from within her mind and she glances over at the Professor to see him watching her calmly.

"How?" She asks allowed, frantically trying to think of nothing but failing miserably.

"Lily, focus on your breathing," Scott says, his voice as calm as the Professor's.

"I can't!" Lily says, her hands starting to shake and glow brighter. "Help me," she whimpers, looking up into Scott's face.

"What is your favourite band?" Scott asks.

"The Clash," Lily says without thinking, not understand the relevance.

"Storm, play 'London Calling' on the speakers," Scott says, directing his attention towards the front of the plane where Storm sat, trying to focus on the sky yet worrying about the scared teenager in the back.

After a moment the song starts and Lily focuses on the music.

_"London calling..."_

The music reminds her of her Father's old record player that used to sit in the living room. He didn't love _The Clash_, but her Mum did. When her Mum put 'London Calling' on they would all dance around the room singing along to the words as though they were their own. Her Dad and Petunia would use a broom to sing into, while Lily would do air guitar and their Mum the air drums.

_"... alike."_

As the last note falls from the speakers Lily opens back up to the world, quickly glancing down at her hands to see them perfectly normal. She breathes out deeply. Turning in her seat she sees Scott grinning at her.

"Thank you," she says, her face back to its normal emotionless mask.

"No problem," he replies.

Storm keeps playing music on the plane speakers, obviously in an attempt to keep Lily calm and it is working. Lily closes her eyes and listens to the music, ignoring everything but the sound. Somehow she drifted into an uneasy sleep, her dreams haunted by her memories and Petunia's scornful expression. With a jolt she wakes up. Quickly checking her hands for damage, Lily sees that she is safe for the moment. But as she kept thinking about her dreams the warmer her hands felt.

"You are so wrong! _The Who_ is a timeless band," someone says loudly from the front of the plane.

"Really?" a woman asks.

"Yes!" the original voice responds with vigor.

"_Time Warp_? Really Scott?" Storm's voice rings out. "I thought you had better taste in music."

Lily listens as the two argue about _The Who_ while some quiet poppy music is playing, probably in an attempt to kept them awake while flying. The plane was level and there was no more turbulence, so Lily quickly undoes her belt buckle and moves along to the plane to the toilets.

After refreshing herself she moves back along the plane to her original seat, but she spots an empty seat next to Scott up the front. Lily walks up to the seat and sits down.

"Hi Lily," Scott says with a smile, offering her a bag of chips.

"Hi," she says as she gratefully grabs a handful of food.

"Leave some for me," Storm says, turning in her seat to smile at Lily good-naturedly.

"You've got the Oreos, pass them over and then you can have some chips," Scott says in a mock bargaining voice, holding out his hand for the Oreos. Storm complies with a mock sad expression.

"You're just going to eat all the Oreos now, aren't you?" she says sadly, sighing dramatically.

"Yep," he replies with relish, as he takes a bite of a cookie. Lily takes one of the Oreos out of the packet and passes it to Storm who grins back at her.

"Thank you Lily, glad to see someone is kind enough to share," Storm says looking pointedly at Scott who is trying to eat two Oreos at once.

"What?" he says, when they both look at him. Storm bursts out laughing at his confused expression. Lily watches as the two of them banter and laugh at one another. It makes her feel more and more like an outsider. They have obviously been friends for a long time and she just feels like she is interrupting.

"I'm going to go back to my seat," she says standing.

"No, stay Lily," Storm says pleadingly, her face encouraging.

"Yeah, please stay?" Scott asks.

"I'm tired," she makes an excuse. Being around people that were so happy made her feel like she was sucking all the fun out of the group. She doesn't belong here.

"Okay, sleep well!" Storm says.

Lily walks back to her original seat, and sinks into it as though she had been standing up for hours. The weight of her powers settled on her back and her neck twinges at the pain. Rubbing her neck Lily settles herself more comfortably in her seat, pushing a button so that it moves into the reclining position. With the soft voices coming from the front of the plane, and the distant sound of music, Lily falls into a dreamless sleep.

The rest of the plane ride was uneventful. Lily read her book mostly, and tried to write a letter to Petunia that had ended with '_London Calling_' being played on the speakers. Soon enough they were arriving at Lily's new school.

"The jet is stored below the basketball court," Scott says to Lily as they watch from within the plane, as the students playing basketball stop and move away. She almost smiles as someone accidently drops the ball and it bounces into the empty space where the court had been moments ago.

Lily doesn't really think as she is guided to her new room; the stares of the other students not even registering in her mind. She is too tried from the funeral, the plane trip, and the lack of sleep that she walks the halls in a daze. Scott carries her pitifully small suitcase in one arm and what looks like a shopping bag in the other, as he leads her to her dorm room.

Minutes or hours could have passed as they walked through the mansion to the student dorms, Lily gliding along after Scott. Finally they make it to where Lily is to live. She opens the door Scott pointed at and walks inside, flicking the light switch as she goes. It is a small room, two beds, two desks, two sets of draws and two nightstands. Everything is bare and empty and it gives Lily a sense of relief that she doesn't have to share a room, but also rejection. Did they not want her around anyone else until she could control her powers? Is she that much of a danger?

"Home sweet home," Scott says, interrupting her dreary thoughts. He places her suitcase on the bed closest to the window, somehow knowing that is the one she wanted. He looks at her for a moment, as if expecting her to say something, anything. But only silence and a blank expression meet his gaze. "I'll be off," he says turning to leave. Just as he gets to the door he spins back around. "Almost forgot," he says holding out the shopping bag to Lily. He smiles at her as she takes them from him. "Just some sweets to remind you of home." She opens the bag and emotion swells within her.

"Thank you," she says weakly as she looks down at the bag full of British candy.

"Don't eat them all at once or else Storm will steal them," he replies grinning back at Lily. He leaves the room and Lily takes a seat on her bed. She puts the shopping bag on the nightstand next to her bed and lifts her suitcase onto the floor. Without changing clothes, Lily slips between the sheets of the neatly made bed. As soon as the pillow hits her head she falls into a restless sleep.


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: **Trigger warning**. This chapter includes ideas about depression and a panic attack, and as someone who has had a panic attack I believe that it could cause unease. Please read with warning.

I dedicate this chapter to my loving parents who are always there for me when I need them.

**Thank you everyone for fav/following this story! I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

~Chapter 3~

Figures move around her in the darkness beyond the ring of fire. The smell of burning flesh fills her nose and she gags. Flames reach so high above her, and the heat hurts her eyes as she tries to see the figures on the other side of the blaze.

"Help us!" a voice screams and Lily tries to reach out her hand through the fire but it burns her. More screaming. It takes her a moment to realize that the screams come from her, and then only when she feels the effects on the back of her throat. Her hand is severely mutilated due to the burns inflicted by the fire but she doesn't feel anything; it's only when she looks down at her hands that she sees the damage. The ring of fire grows smaller around her and the tears dry in her eyes.

A loud knock rips her away from her nightmare. Sitting up in her new bed she rubs her eyes tiredly, trying to rid her brain of the memory of the cruel dream.

"Morning Lily," Storm's voice calls out from the other side of the door. "Breakfast starts in twenty minutes,"

The thought of food repulses her and Lily only calls out thanks as a non-committal response. She lies back down in her bed and pulls the covers back over her body, burrowing into the warmth. Ten minutes later and she was only just getting out of bed.

She pulls out a pair of jeans and gets dressed quickly. Still wearing her pyjama top she rifles through her suitcase to find a shirt to wear. Some overactive part of her imagination was thinking that she'd find the blue sweater that her Mum bought her for her birthday last year and crying as she pressed the fabric to her face, remembering her Mother's happy expression as she handed her the present. But that item of clothing had been hanging up neatly in Lily's closet when the incident happened, so it perished that night. There would be no teary sobbing into random family or personal items, no nostalgic feeling brought on by clothing. The only thing that she currently owned that belonged to either of her parents was her Mother's watch that had been sent to the jewellers that day and was unharmed. She couldn't very well cry into a watch, however. That would be stupid. But she felt like she should be crying. She should be showing outwardly sad emotions. But she just felt hollow and numb. She couldn't cry even if she wanted to.

After putting on a plain black shirt and a grey hoody, Lily decided to skip breakfast. She made her way into the hall, carefully checking her room for any untidiness. She wants to keep her room as neat as possible. Back home Petunia had kept her room clean before the incident, and Lily was going keep her room clean as some sort of tribute to her. It didn't make sense but she ignored her logical mind.

Stepping out of her room she takes a couple of steps before someone runs into her, making her stumble and almost fall over. An invisible force keeps her from falling. It feels as if she's just been picked up out of the air and pushed back onto the ground. With her feet safely planted on the ground again she looks around with wide eyes.

"Sorry," someone says, reaching out and patting her shoulder. She looks up into grey eyes, a spark of mirth twinkling in them. Soft looking black hair falls to his shoulders and he walks with an arrogant confidence. "Like what you see?" he asks, smirking.

"Just a prick with an ego the size of a bus," she snaps. How the hell did she not just land on her face? Did he just telekinetically pick her out of the air after knocking her over? Her face shows none of her confusion, just annoyance, and he looks taken aback with her response.

"Sorry, just in a hurry as all," he says apologetically again. "Sirius," he continues, holding out his hand in greeting.

"Lily," she says shaking his hand politely. "What did you – "

"I just saved you from falling by manipulating the gravity around you to float you onto your feet," he says, cutting her off.

"Thanks," she replies.

"You going to breakfast?" Sirius asks, starting to walk with her down the corridor.

"Yeah," she responds.

"The pancakes are probably already gone, that's why I was rushing. Pancakes on a Monday morning make life worth living," he says with a blissful smile.

Lily just nods neutrally.

He keeps trying to make small talk all the way to the dinning hall, with Lily only replying in monosyllables. They make it to the doors of the crowded dinning hall and Sirius takes a step inside the doorway, looking back at Lily with confusion. She had stopped and was now staring as the mass of students.

"Are you coming?" Sirius asks.

How many people are in there? If she lost control of her powers would they all be able to get out in time? How many times could she lose control before the Professor sent her away?

"I think I'll pass," Lily says turning back around to walk in the direction that she believes Storm and Scott's office is.

"Where you going?" Sirius says, jogging to catch up with her.

"To find Storm and/or Scott," Lily replies, still walking back along the corridor.

"Well, you're going in the wrong direction," Sirius says with a chuckle. "You've got to go down that corridor and then after you pass the statue of the one-eyed witch you turn left and Scott's office is next to Storm's and the Professor's," he says.

Lily says his words over in her head committing it to memory.

"Thanks," she says, turning to walk down the corridor Sirius pointed out.

"I'll see you around Lily," he says, walking back towards the dinning hall.

"Bye," she says as she keeps walking.

The corridors are brightly lit with natural light as well as light fittings in the ceiling, illuminating the beautiful paintings and photos on the walls. Various statues of people and abstract objects stand at either side of the hallway, and it doesn't take long for Lily to find the one-eyed witch statue. She takes the next left after it and finds Storm's office. She knocks lightly but there is no reply from inside, so she moves on to Scott's office, not wanting to bother the Professor with her worries.

Lily knocks on the heavy wooden door.

"Come in," Scott's voice is muffled as it comes through the door. Lily opens the door and steps into the comfortable looking office. "Hi Lily," he says with a smile.

"Morning," she replies taking a couple steps into the room. She stands awkwardly between the door and the chairs facing Scott's desk as he spins around in his swivel chair to get something from behind him. He turns back around to see her shuffling her feet and stands up.

"Did you want to go for a walk?" Scott asks. "I can show you around the mansion."

Lily nods in affirmation.

Scott gives her a tour of the school, pointing out replicas of famous paintings and several authentic ones. He shows her the way to where most of her classes will be tomorrow and where the common room for students is. She sees everything through a lens of darkness despite the bright classrooms and reflective surfaces of well-polished wooden doors and wall paneling. Lily is in a new world, so separate from her old life yet so connected. She killed her parents and ended up in mansion. It doesn't seem like a fitting punishment. Her morbid thoughts shine through onto her face, and Scott notices her mood.

"Lily, did you want to see the gardens?" he asks, remembering words of her older cousin.

_"__You said that the grounds of the school have massive gardens, right?__" __Brett had said._

_"__Yeah,__" __Scott had replied, not understanding the significance._

_"__Please show them to her when she gets there. She loves gardens, her Dad had a wonderful garden at their old house,__" __Brett had said._

"Yes please," Lily says, as her face stretches into a smile that looks more like a grimace, as if the muscles haven't been used in a long while. Scott sees the hope in her features and grins back at her. Any expression that wasn't blank was a good change.

As soon as the door leading to the garden opens a wave of fresh aromas engulfs Lily. Being stuck inside a plane, her new room, and then the long tour of the school had been exhausting, but the smell of flowers and nature coming from the gardens re-energizes her somewhat.

"I'll let you have a look around by yourself," Scott says smiling. "I'll be in my office when you need me, and I can give you your timetable for tomorrow," he says.

"Okay, thanks" she says absentmindedly, already moving towards the path that will lead her to the sanctuary of the garden.

"Bye," he calls after her, but it is too late. She is lost to the fresh smells of the flowers, and recently mown grass.

She walks deeper into the beautiful grounds, passing plants that her Father had planted in their garden or ones he had shown her in his botany books. He loved gardening and would spend hours working with the plants, making sure they got the correct amount of water, sunlight, and fertilizer. Lily spots an expanse of green lawn and can't resist the temptation. She slips out of her sneakers and socks and walks barefoot in the soft grass. She takes a seat on the grass, extending her arms above her head and stretching. She lies down with her head resting on her arm in the shade, under a tree, and the rest of her body in the sun. Lily closes her eyes and attempts to not think about anything, just trying to relax completely, leave her grief and pain at the door for just a moment. But the warmth of the mid-morning sun causes her to drift into a light doze, her mind shifting into overdrive, bringing her memories into the foreground of her dreams.

The dream is one of the ones she's had on repeat for the last couple of days, haunting her. The house is on fire. She can hear her parents yelling but she can't get to them. Lily slams her fists repeatedly on the door separating them from her, screaming and crying out for them. The smoke burns her lungs and she tries to put out the fire using her abilities but the flames only get bigger, surrounding her and blocking out her bedroom walls.

"Freak!" she hears Petunia's voice filling her ears. Lily brings her hands to her ears and tries to block out the sound unsuccessfully as another voice whispers that it is all her fault.

"You killed them. You started the fire and killed them. You killed your parents. You killed them," the voice whispers to her as Lily screams out for it to stop.

She wakes with a jolt, her body forcing her into a sitting position. Rubbing her wrist and blinking in the brightness of the afternoon sun, Lily looks up to see someone awkwardly standing in front of her. The sun is shining behind their head and she can't make out more than a silhouette of their face.

"Um, hi?" the person in front of her says, shifting his body weight from one foot to the other. The voice determines the gender of the person but Lily stays sitting, not understanding what they want.

"Hi," she responds.

"You're the new girl, aren't you?" the question is self-explanatory so Lily doesn't answer. She shades her eyes with her hands, trying to make out their expression, but fails. "I'm Peter," he says awkwardly.

Lily stands up, realizing that she isn't going to be able to avoid a conversation.

"Lily," she says as she dusts down her jeans, and pulls off her jumper. It is getting a bit hot to be wearing it. Suddenly her stomach rumbles. The need for food overwhelms her, but she knows that she can't eat in the dinning hall. Scott might have food in his office, or he might take pity on her and bring her some food in her room. Her thoughts are interrupted by Peter.

"It's another hour until lunch, but I could show you to the kitchen's if you want?" he says with a smile.

She nods quickly.

"I missed breakfast," she says as they leave her spot under the shade of the tree.

"Well, lucky I found you when I did. The teachers don't like it when students pass out in the corridors," he says, with a smirk.

"Does it happen often?" Lily finds herself asking, as if without permission. She inwardly questions herself. Her emotions are all over the place. Greatly upset by the dream, annoyed that this random guy found her sleeping in the gardens like a weird person, and somewhat amused as well as grateful for his offer to show her to food.

"Yeah, well. This is a school for the gifted. Sometimes people use their powers to show off and end up using too much energy and pass out," he says obviously reminiscing about some incident.

They make it to the kitchens and Peter walks inside and gestures for Lily to follow.

"Peter Pettigrew, right on time," an elderly woman says from the other side of the room, not looking up as the teenagers enter.

"Hi Nancy," Peter says, with a wave.

"Hi Pete," a younger man says, appearing from out of the oven. "Nancy, the lasagna cooks for forty minutes, so I'll be taking my break now," he says, patting Peter on the back as he leaves.

"Bye Harish," Peter says giving the man a smile as he passes.

"You go and make your friend's sandwich Peter, I'm just finishing off the soup for tonight," Nancy says, gesturing at the empty bench near the fridge.

"Thanks Nancy," he replies walking over to the bench.

He strides around the place like he owns it, grabbing a chopping board, a knife, a plastic box of cold chicken from the massive fridge, some bread rolls, cheese, and a bowl of salad. Lily takes a seat on one of the kitchen bar stools, watching as he starts making a sandwich.

"You really didn't have to do this for me," she says matter-of-factly. Peter looks up and smiles warmly at her, shrugging.

"I don't mind, really. Besides," he says, "one of my friends doesn't like eating lunch in the dinning hall so I make something for him before everyone else eats in the hall at one o'clock."

Lily watches as Peter works wondering why his friend didn't eat in the hall with everyone else.

Did he have a really terrifying ability too? Does he feel that he'd hurt other people if he were around them too much? Is he dangerous? Is there someone else that could possibly share her feelings of isolation and fear?

Her thoughts are interrupted when a gangly teenager enters the kitchen and walks over to their bench. He looks ragged and absolutely exhausted to the point of collapse, but the grateful smile that lights up his face when he sees the ready made sandwich makes him look angelic.

"Remus, this is Lily," Peter says as Remus takes the seat next to her. With an almost comical gasp of shock he sees her.

"Jesus Christ! I didn't see you there," he says, the dark circles under his eyes make him look older, but on closer examination Lily realizes that he is probably the same age as her.

"Hi," Lily says, starting to eat her sandwich. Remus shakes off his shock and extends a hand to her.

"Remus, as Pete already said. Nice to meet you Lily," he says, his smile taking the darkness away from under his eyes.

Lily shakes his hand, a feeling of warmth races through her body and suddenly she doesn't understand why she has been feeling so terrible recently. It feels like a ray of sunshine has impaled her and for a moment she can't breathe. Remus quickly releases her hand and the grief of her parent's deaths falls back down to her and she has to fight to will her heart to keep beating as the pain washes over her in waves.

"Shit! I'm so sorry Lily!" Remus exclaims, his face wild with panic and sadness. "I've just been practicing with the Professor to control it and I guess I just built up its strength. When I first meet people it is always hard, especially when they have been through what you have," the words rush out of his mouth, but Lily barely catches them as she tries to stop herself from throwing up.

Peter suddenly appears next to her stool, supporting her shoulders as if she's about to fall right off the seat.

"I'm fine," she says, her eyes wide and her breathing erratic. "What just happened?" Remus looks at her mournfully, as Peter sits down on her other side.

"Remus is an empath, meaning he can sense other people's emotions at a heightened level, he can also force emotions upon them or even stop them from feeling," Peter says it slowly so Lily can digest the information. She wraps her arms protectively around herself, trying to understand. A bar of chocolate slides along the bench to her, and Lily looks questioningly at Remus.

"Eat it, it helps," he says, giving her an empathetic look.

"So, what _was_ that?" she asks, taking a bite of the chocolate bar.

"I accidentally made you feel extremely happy when I touched your hand, but then when I let go I tried to take that happy away and then you felt all the grief and pain come back full force. I'm so sorry," he says, shaking his head sadly. "I can't control my powers and it keeps hurting people," Lily looks at him and she understands exactly how he feels.

"No," Peter says vehemently. "You can't control them yet. Remus, you can do this! You are going to be able to master your abilities, just give it time," he says, reaching around Lily to pat his friend's arm.

Lily looks at the two of them and she wishes that she had people in her life that could support her in such a way. She used to have really good friends back home, but none of them were told about her powers and they didn't know what to say around her what with her parents' deaths. Brett supported her, and still loved her after being told what happened, but he isn't here. She has no one.

"I've got to go to Scott's office," Lily says suddenly standing up.

The two boys look at her with concern, Remus with a touch of understanding. He has people in his life that he can trust and make him feel not like crap, but Lily doesn't. They aren't alike at all. She has to get away.

Before either of them say another word Lily has left the kitchen. She walks quickly, her head down, trying to hold off her impending emotions. When she looks up she realizes that she has gone in the complete wrong direction, but she can't turn back. She's got to keep moving. Lily tries to find a door leading outside, but none rush at her. She sees a sign for the toilets; knowing its all she's going to get at the moment she hurries inside.

Thankfully it is empty. She goes into a lavatory stall and rests her back against the door. Slowly she slides down it until her tail bone hits the floor with a painful bump. Grief overcomes her and all she can do to keep breathing is sit there. Its like an icy coldness has over comes her bones and she can't move, she's stuck. Nothing is ever going to be okay. She is all alone. Her parents are dead, her sister hates her, and even Brett is on the other side of the world. She is alone. No one will ever care for her like Peter cares for Remus. She will always be alone.

Her eyes sting and she uses her hands to wipe at them. Water comes away on her hands and she looks at her pale hands with confusion. She's crying.

She hasn't cried. She hasn't once cried since it happened. Not for their deaths, not for Petunia's harsh words, not her relatives' scared expressions, not for leaving her home country. It makes her angry that one day on her own can reduce her to tears. But they keep falling. Great sobs rise in her chest and she scrunches her knees tightly into her body, wrapping her arms around herself.

Nothing has ever made her feel so much pain. It hurts in places Lily can't even name and she doesn't know how it stop it from hurting. It is like someone is repeatedly shooting her in the chest. But then the guilt and self-loathing come in and step on her insides as they pour out of her. She wants it to stop, to feel numb. But that's what she has been doing for the past couple of days and now, here she is crying on the floor of a school toilet.

Lily gasps for breath and the sound echoes around her in the silent bathroom. She sniffles and tries to wipe at her eyes but her hands are shaking and her nose is running, the pain still needing to pour out of her.

Without meaning to she falls on to her side and curls into a ball. The tears trickling down her face and unto the floor below her head, but no sound comes from her; just a sense of desolation and despair radiating off her like a nuclear power station.

She is _not_ alright. She is _not_ okay.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 of The Spark Within**

This chapter is dedicated as a belated birthday present to my friend Bolt. I hope you enjoy :)

And thank you to my lovely Beta Hoodoo for another chapter edited. And thank you to everyone who is still reading this story!

**Chapter 4**

The cold tiles leech the heat from her body and Lily shivers. Of course she left her hoodie in the kitchen with Peter and Remus. If she were less of a moron she would have brought it with her. Now they will actively seek her out to give it back, because they are nice people. Goose bumps cover her exposed arms, and the thin fabric of her shirt doesn't do much to keep her warm. If she weren't still lying on the bathroom floor then she wouldn't be as cold. She obviously had a panic attack earlier and that's why she is currently in this ridiculous position; tightly curled into a ball, lying on her side, her hands clutching her stomach and her hair splayed on the dirty bathroom floor. She can't, nor does she really have the motivation, to move.

Pushing all her thoughts away, Lily focuses on her breathing. On the expansion of her lungs as air moves in and out of her body. She can hear the incessant dripping of a tap that wasn't turned off tightly enough, but she pushes it aside, burying her emotions to gain control.

She hears movement in the corridor beyond the room: classes probably finished, people going to lunch. Lily inwardly sighs in relief, knowing that she randomly chose a bathroom that wasn't close to the dining hall. Finding 'the new girl' lying on the floor wouldn't help her fit in. It would make her stand out, and that is something she does not want to do.

A thump at the door alters her to new danger of being found in her state, but she still can't move. It feels as though her whole body has been frozen, stiffened so drastically she'll need to be thawed by a hairdryer. The thumping comes again.

"Hello? Anyone in there?" a non-female voice calls out from the corridor. "This is the closest toilet and I really need to pee, so I'm coming in," the voice continues.

Tears slip down Lily's face at the humiliation to follow this random person's entrance, and she curls herself more tightly, her hand rubbing at her stinging eyes.

The door is forced open.

"No one here, thank god!" the voice gasps, quickly finding the lock to the bathroom door and locking it.

He makes his way to the furthest cubical, obviously not spotting the weird red-head in the first cubical. The sound of someone relieving himself rings in Lily's ear and she scrunches her nose in disgust. He flushes the toilet and Lily listens with fear as he washes his hands. An itch starts in Lily's nose and her eyes widen when the realization hits her. She is about to sneeze. The hand-dryer goes off and she tries to muffle the sound of her sneeze with her arm, thankful for the added noise.

"Is someone there?" he says as the dryer stops.

Another sneeze erupts from Lily, and the sound echoes around the bathroom.

Footsteps near her cubical and Lily's muscles tense in preparation of being found out. Suddenly her door is yanked open and a shadow falls over her freezing body.

"Holy shit! Are you all right?" he asks, kneeling down next to Lily. She has her back to him, so he can't see her pained expression as his hand reaches out and touches her shoulder, but he does see her flinch away from him. "Are you hurt?" he asks, his voice filled with worry. "Did someone hurt you?"

"I'm fine," her voice comes out hoarse and not sounding truthful whatsoever.

"Yeah, sure. Jesus, you're freezing!" he says reaching out to her again. He flicks something open and warmth spreads down her back. Lily turns her head to see the source of the heat and screams when she sees fire. Her legs snap into action, making her scramble away from the flame. Her neck hits the cool toilet seat with a bump and she shivers at the touch.

"It's all right. I can control it," the guy says, stepping closer to her, the flame nearing her face. Lily screams moves further away, onto the toilet seat, not understanding what he is saying at all.

"Get away! I don't want to hurt you!" she yells at him, shielding herself from the fire. She felt like she was doing it again, that she's going to hurt someone again. The heat suddenly disappears and she looks up at the guy standing in front of her, his hands raised in surrender.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," he says, watching her carefully.

"I – I just can't control my powers," Lily mumbles, as she inspects her hands, turning them over and looking for danger. She takes a deep breath to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry, my powers tend to have that effect on people," he says, lowering his hands and bowing his head so she can't see his expression.

"That was me, I'm so sorry," Lily replies, also not showing her face to him. Out of the corner of her eye she sees his head whip up.

"No, that was definitely me, controlling that fire. Can you manipulate fire too?" he asks, making Lily match his actions, her green eyes drilling into his brown ones.

"Yeah," she replies.

She stands up. He is a foot taller than her and she has to crane her neck to look at his face properly. He has sandy blond hair cut short, and he keeps flicking a lighter in his hands. He is looking at her with the same shocked expression and Lily smiles up at him. Then she does something that she feels she hasn't done in a very long time. She laughs. Not a full happy laugh like she once used to, but a hysterical one. The guy looks back at her like she is crazy but then his face splits into a grin, and then he starts laughing. Their laughter echoes off the tiled walls of the bathroom and bounces back at them. So different to the sounds it was reflecting earlier.

When they stop both of them take deep breaths, both smiling.

"I'm John by the way," he says. Lily extends her hand to him to shake.

"I'm Lily," she responds. He looks at her hand questioningly and then shakes it. His hand is so warm compared to her freezing cold one. The bathroom floor had leached the warmth from her bones and she was only just fully realising the effects.

"Bloody hell, let's get out of this freezing bathroom," she says, letting go of his hand and rubbing her arms to warm them.

John nods and they make their way back into the corridor.

Thankfully the hallways are empty and John easily leads her to the nearest door outside. They sit down on a bench and Lily closes her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun. John stretches in the sun and also relaxes.

"So, what is your favourite colour?" he asks, breaking the comfortable silence with his odd question. Lily opens her eyes to frown at him in confusion. "We are the only people at this school who can control fire and I just saved you from hypothermia, we should be friends," he continues, grinning at her.

"Fair enough, I could use some friends," Lily says smiling back. "Green."

"I should have guessed," he says. Lily rolls her electric green eyes. "Do you get that a lot?" John asks, catching on to her annoyance. Lily nods good-naturedly.

"But actually I like dark green, rather than scary green," she says sarcastically. "How about you?"

"Green. That green to be specific," he laughs as she rolls her eyes again.

"Smooth."

"I know," John chuckles. He scratches his chin in a mock thinking pose. "Which is your least favourite vegetable?"

"Beetroot," Lily grimaces at the thought.

"I thought you were going to say carrot," he grins. She elbows him playfully.

"You are hilarious,"

"Yep. My least favourite vegetable would have to be…"

"If you say ginger I will be forced to murder you," Lily says, cutting him off.

"It would be celery," John says, ignoring her jab. "How did you find out about your powers? I set my bed on fire, my Dad had to put it out with a fire extinguisher." John laughs at the memory, not noticing Lily's face draining of colour.

She feels goose bumps cover her skin, and the sun doesn't shine as bright as it was a moment ago. Lily swallows thickly and clenches her hands, leaving half moon indents in her palm.

"I started a fire in my house and killed my parents,"

The words leave her mouth before she can stop them. As soon as she says it she regrets it. John's head turns to look at her, but she stares straight ahead of her, not looking at him, not even noticing his presence. She killed her parents. Saying it aloud made it real. There is no denying the fact. No redemption possible for such an act either. She is a murderer and John doesn't want someone like her in his life.

"I've got to go," she says, standing up without glancing at him and hurrying back inside the mansion. He doesn't try to stop her. Lily is pretty sure he is stuck in place. Not able to move because he was just sitting next to a psychopath. They hide in plain sight, and then kill their parents when they least expect it. The twisting turns of the corridors don't help her to clear her neurotic mind.

She isn't allowed friends. She isn't allowed happiness. Not after what she has done.

The slight joy of finding someone else who has the ability to control fire, and actually making a friend, sort of, dissipates as she keeps walking. Head down. One foot in front of the other. Get to Scott's office before you cry Lily.

Scott's office door is hanging open and when Lily walks inside Scott looks up at her with relief. She stands there for a moment before bursting into tears. Instantly he gets up from behind his desk and guides her to a seat. Lily sits down and rubs angrily at her leaking face; eyes watery, nose running. She hears the click of the office door closing and then Scott is at her side again.

"What happened Lily?"

"I – I don't deserve friends," she sobs. Scott wraps his arms around her small frame and she cries into him, the grief overloading for the second time that day.

After she has calmed down somewhat she tells him about what happened in the kitchen with Peter and Remus. Then she tells him about how she cried in the bathroom, and having a panic attack. Then about when John found her and how he made her feel better for a while, how they were having fun and talking. And then about how she told him about what she did.

"I killed them," Lily says through more tears. "It was all my fault and I don't want that to happen again!" she continues, looking at Scott with fear in her eyes. "I never want use my powers because I . . . I just don't want to hurt anyone else."

"Lily, I promise that the Professor will help you and so will I. We won't let you hurt anyone. You are safe here, and so are all the students that live here," Scott says solemnly.

Words fail Lily as she sees the determination on his face. The determination to help her. The determination not to let her feel like she is alone in all this.

"Thank you," she says, wiping at her eyes and biting her lip. "Are all the new students stupidly teary?" she asks, trying to lighten the mood.

"Only the ones who are homesick," Scott says, sitting down more comfortably on the chair next to her.

"I'm not homesick. I'm life-sick," Lily says, wrapping her arms around her torso.

"Well, this place will help. Many of the students that go here have been through similar events that you have, and it has taken them years to heal but eventually they do," Scott replies. "But in the meantime, you have homework to occupy your time."

Lily looks over to him and rolls her eyes.

"So there are real classes here, not just Controlling Abilities, Duelling Club, and Magic Biology?" Lily asks with a raise of her eyebrow.

"Yeah, we have those classes, but you can choose Latin as an elective too," Scott replies with a grin.

"Please tell me that there is a special room where everything is fireproof or something," she says, turning in her seat to talk to Scott. She folds one of her legs under her and leans forward in her chair, an actual smile brewing on her face.

"Oh yeah. There are heaps of facilities. There is even a cinema of sorts," Scott says seriously.

"Not bloody likely," Lily scoffs.

"It's true. Every Saturday night there is a movie playing in the sound proof room, so that other students can sleep. It's located near the gym," Scott replies with a smirk.

"Watching movies is fun, but nothing beats reading in front of a fire with a cup of steaming tea," Lily replies smiling nostalgically. Thankfully she packed some of her favourite tea bags into her suitcase when she left Brett's flat, as well as several books.

"Yes! Except exchange the tea for coffee," Scott says grinning.

"You are so American," Lily jokes, rolling her eyes in mock outrage that he prefers coffee over tea.

"Well you are ridiculously British," he replies with earnest.

"Am not!" Lily exclaims, her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "I'm not ridiculously British,"

"Says the girl with the Union Jack t-shirt and tea bags in her suitcase," Scott responds with a smirk, knowing he has won the argument. Lily folds her arms over her chest.

"Shut up," she says in defeat.

After a while they get hungry so Scott goes off and grabs some early dinner for them, while Lily looked through his collection of books behind his desk. He said she could borrow them whenever she wanted to, and also told her that the school library was pretty good too. She pulled out a few classics and began reading them until Scott came back with food. When he did they ate lasagne and talked more about music and books.

On the way back to Lily's door room she decided to stop by the common room to see if she could find John and apologise for just dropping her bomb and then running away. He was so nice to her and she needed to let him know that she wasn't crazy.

She spots him sitting at a table at the back of the room, doing homework. Another group of people were sitting around an empty fire place and talking. She recognises Remus and Peter among the large group and does her best to avoid eye-contact, but not in the creepy/obvious way. Lily really doesn't want to confront the awkwardness of her departure and their little meeting in the kitchen. Remus scared her a little bit and she doesn't like the idea of someone fully comprehending her emotions better than she does.

So Lily makes her way over to John and sits down opposite him, her back to the other group. He looks up at greet her with a sad smile.

"I'm really sorry I ran off like that," Lily says, smiling apologetically. "It just slipped out and then I freaked a little bit."

"That is absolutely fine," John says, reaching out and squeezing her hand that is resting on the table. "You really don't need to apologise."

"But I do, you were just being friendly – "

"And annoyingly questioning," he says cutting her off.

"And I'd really like to be your friend," Lily finishes, having ignored him. She smiles warily at him, and he grins back at her.

"Same," he says. Lily lets out a sigh in relief and grins at him sheepishly.

Lily leans back in her chair and relaxes; happy knowing that she has actually made two friends today. Scott and John. Things were looking up and she was going to try and stay positive about everything. Her parents would want her to be sad. They were wonderful people who would want her to be happy.

"So have you heard about the new girl?" a voice breaks through her thoughts and Lily looks over at John with confusion, thinking that he was the one talking. He locks eyes with her and tilts his head up, saying it came from behind her.

"I heard she's mentally unstable," another voice adds making Lily almost laugh. The other people in the group do actually laugh, and she frowns. Why are they laughing? John raises his hands to make an X, shaking his head in disagreement. Lily half smirks back at him.

"James, you have no idea what you are talking about," Remus' voice comes from the other side of the room, reminding Lily of Remus and Peter's presence within the group.

"Well, you've met her. What is she like?" the same voice, James, asks.

Lily cringes. Is he going to tell them about what he saw in her emotions? How much did he find out when he shook her hand? He knew about her grief, but did he find out the specific cause? John notices Lily's expression and covers her clenched fist on the table, squeezing her hand lightly. She smiles gratefully at him.

"She... she's a bit strange," Peter says after a moment, obviously covering for Remus who doesn't respond to James' question.

"She's a psycho!" James exclaims. Lily turns around suddenly in her seat to stare at him, confused by his sudden outburst. Everyone else bursts out laughing and she feels tears prick her eyes. Getting up from her seat she hurries passed the group of laughing teenagers.

Exiting the room, Lily keeps walking along the corridor. The sound of feet hurrying to catch up to her notifies her of John's arrival.

"I had to pack up my homework," he says. "But I really wanted to stay and beat the crap out of them." Lily stops mid-step and turns to look at him.

"Just because they were being pricks doesn't mean that you have to get into trouble," she says seriously. "But thank you. It's nice to know that someone has my back," Lily says smiling at him. John wraps an arm around her shoulders and squeezes them comfortingly.

"I'll always have your back. Us controllers of fire have got to stick together," he says. Lily hesitates, but after a moment she responds by wrapping her arm around his back and tipping her head so it rests on his shoulder.

They wordlessly start walking back to Lily's dorm. It feels as though it has been years since she woke up that morning. Walking up to the previously unwelcoming door, knowing that she has someone looking out for, her makes the day one well spent.

"Do you want to come in?" Lily asks self-consciously, trying not to make it sound any way romantic.

"Yeah, you said you had Oreos," he says, grinning down at her as he enters her room. "Wow."

"What?" she asks, taking a seat on her bed while John still stands in the middle of the room.

"It is so clean!" he exclaims, his eyes wide. "I haven't seen the carpet of my dorm room since I got here. Thank God I've got Bobby, or I'd be knee deep in dirty clothes and empty packets of chips every time I stepped inside the room."

"Is Bobby your roommate?" Lily asks, throwing the packet of Oreos to John as he sits down on the floor, his back resting against the empty second bed.

"Yeah, he's pretty cool," John says grinning at some inside joke she doesn't understand. "Why don't you have any posters?" he asks after a moment, looking up at the eerily bare walls.

"I only got here yesterday," she replies defensively.

"Well, my friend. We will have to do something about that," he says with a mischievous smile.

Ten minutes later and Lily is standing watch outside a classroom, while John is inside nicking some art equipment. She grins when he comes out to show her his bounty; a couple of giant pieces of paper, coloured marker pens, glitter glue and a packet of shiny golden stars. When they get back to Lily's dorm room they start planning what they will put on the posters.

The following morning Lily wakes up to see three A3 sized posters decorating her dorm room walls. One is of a fist rising out of the ground reading 'power to the fire mutants' and red glitter surrounding the edges of the hand. Another is a stick figure drawing of herself and John eating Oreos and laughing, with the caption 'Oreos make the world a happy place' as though it were an advertisement. The third poster is the one John worked on in secret while Lily was cleaning up the mess she made with the glitter. It has a cartoon drawing taking up the entire space; Lily with a book in her hand and John standing next to her, his arm draped over her shoulder. They are smiling, Lily's green eyes twinkling with green glitter and John's hair glinting with gold glitter. Words written in red pen run across the bottom of the poster, with gold stars surrounding them, 'I've got your back Little Red'


End file.
